As if the iPhone 5 didn’t already have enough major problems from its poor maps feature, theflaky 4G connection to the dodgy camera taking purple pictures, yet another major problem has cropped up: a bug in iOS 6 that leaves hapless users with huge Wi-Fi bills.

The bug causes excessive data download over Wi-Fi, much more than the user was intending to use, leading to excessively large bills. Apple quietly fixed this for Verizon users in the US, but hasn’t yet gotten around to it for Australian users. For example, one Vodafone user had inadvertently downloaded 20GB of data leading to a shocking AU$6,000 bill. Another on Telstra had used 5GB leading to a AU$1,300 bill, with a lot more similar cases. It is possible to work around the problem however: simply turn off cellular data when connected to a Wi-Fi network. Yes indeed, iOS 6 certainly does take their users in “entirely new directions” as the logo below proudly claims…

So, who will foot the bill? It shouldn’t be the innocent users for sure and neither the carriers, since it’s not their fault that their networks were used to excess. Of course, it should be Apple. However, they haven’t even officially acknowledged that there’s a problem and will likely fight any claims of liability. No, instead it looks like the carriers are going to eat the cost in order to keep their customers happy, since competition between them is fierce. Indeed, Optus has already waived charges for one user, according to a post on their forums.

With so many big faults, it sounds like it’s time to forget the iPhone this time round and get a decent phone instead such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 – the iPhone 5’s nemesis. It looks like the end of Steve Jobs has really hurt Apple, as they now seem unable to deliver on their primary promise: the “it just works” seamless and allegedly hassle-free Apple experience which they tout so much. Or put another way, the iPhone 5 is rubbish.

The official line from Telstra is that the company is aware of the issue and is looking into it, Optus said that it was still investigating the root cause of the issue, and Vodafone said it was aware of the issue and was monitoring it. It is easy enough to work around it if you just turn off the cellular data on your iPhone when connected to a Wi-Fi network. No doubt, we’ll get a carrier settings update soon that fixes it, but for those who haven’t kept an eagle eye on their data usage may be in for a shock when it comes to bill time.